


Pandora's Box

by xAmalie



Category: Twisted-Wonderland (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Introspection, Late Night Conversations, M/M, Nightmares, Past Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:21:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23583028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xAmalie/pseuds/xAmalie
Summary: Something touches him and chills run through his body. Where the long and pale fingers touch his skin, it feels like needles piercing it. His shoulders, his back, his neck, everything becomes cold as ice.He can't breathe anymore."Ace. What are you doing here?" He doesn't want to pretend that everything is fine, so he just wipes the tears away from his cheeks. "It's late.""I could ask you the same thing." Ace is staring at him from the doorway, a mix of concern and disbelief in his eyes."...Indeed, you could."And Riddle knows that he will.
Relationships: Riddle Rosehearts/Ace Trappola
Comments: 5
Kudos: 114





	Pandora's Box

Curtains dance like silk in the wind. The lanterns' dim flames above Main Street is the only source of light outside the Heartslabyul dormitory.

Riddle should go to bed, it's already past 4AM, yet his eyes continue unconsciously staring at those rose bushes in the distance. Even after weeks, at night, they manage to make him shiver in fear.  
With the blanket on his shoulders that embraces him warmly, he holds a cup in his hands, the tea cold by now. He knows that he won't be able to sleep any more, not after the umpteenth nightmare. He also knows that he can't go bother Trey again, although he had told Riddle many times that he should wake him up whenever he needs it.

He is tired, but not in a bad way. Having to pay attention to his words, his gestures... or just the way he looks at someone. Change isn't easy, especially when you've spent your whole life doing the wrong things, but he wants it.

Riddle puts the cup down and slides the blanket off as he stands up from the windowsill. He picks up the book he was reading before falling asleep from the floor and puts it back in the huge bookcase before his bed, amongst the many tomes and encyclopaedias that seem ready to fall over at any moment.  
He tidies up, flips through a few books before putting them back in their place. None of this makes him feel better, nor does it help him sleep.

♥ ♥ ♥

As he's caring for the roses in the garden, Riddle smiles when he hears Cater and Trey yelling something at the first year group.

Ever since he apologized for his past behaviour, all Heartslabyul students have been more inclined to speak to him. He sees respect in their eyes, sometimes a little bit of uneasiness, but there's no longer fear in them.  
But not having to follow all those absurd rules he had once imposed to himself hasn't only benefited his social skills. Since Cater and Trey decided to oversee the dorm's daily activities, Riddle has plenty of free time. Almost too much of it, to the point that he now has nothing to keep his mind busy with.   
Time flies during the day, but the nights... sometimes they're way too difficult to overcome. He almost wishes the sun would never set. He would like to spend whole afternoons with his friends, laugh with them, making fun of Ace and Deuce with Trey and Cater.

_Ace_... what a strange guy.

"Ouch..."

The stinging pain awakens Riddle from a trance he hadn't even realized he had fallen into. He stares at the bright red drop of blood that trickles from the minor cut, sighs and brings his finger to his mouth in silence.

♥ ♥ ♥

_Riddle recognizes the room he is in, it's way too familiar. The smell of ancient books and peppermint brings back memories of a child who couldn't name the pain he felt in his chest whenever his mother didn't permit him to go play with his friends, a child who didn't know how to stand up for himself._

_The window is closed, the curtains don't move an inch, the table cloth is immaculate. There's no dust on the shelves nor on the bookcase. Everything is in its place – Riddle is too, sitting on one of the chairs in the center of the room. He doesn't move, he knows he has to stay still and be quiet because that's what his mother has always told him to do. He doesn't have the right to say otherwise._

_No one has ever called him Riddle Rosehearts, he was always "the son of that famous magician". He was just a decoration, a trophy, one of his mother's masterpieces._

_Objects don't decide what to do._   
_Objects don't have a will._   
_Objects don't move unless someone moves them._

_Something touches him and chills run through his body. Where the long and pale fingers touch his skin, it feels like needles piercing it. His shoulders, his back, his neck, everything becomes cold as ice.  
_ _He can't breathe anymore._

♥ ♥ ♥

Riddle's eyes snap open. He knows that he's in his own room, that should be enough to reassure him that the nightmare is over, but those touches are still vivid in his mind.

He quickly gets out of bed, but trips over the blankets and falls to his knees. He looks around searching for something, _anything_ , that could help him catch his breath. His nails dig into his neck and leave red streaks along the skin, a vain attempt to erase the invisible hold that's choking him. The walls seem to be closing in, the darkness seems ready to swallow him. He can't think about anything, he can't relax, he can't even breathe to ease the pain in his chest. He's unable to hold back the tears that start spilling as he gets up and runs out of his room.

Riddle doesn't slow down. He can't, not when his lungs are burning and his whole body is trembling at the memory of that nightmare. It's only when he throws open the dorm's main entrance and the cold night wind hits his face that he collapses to his knees on the grass, taking in as much oxygen as he can. He coughs, over and over again, but the tears don't seem willing to stop.

"Riddle...?"

Riddle turns to the source of the voice behind him.  
Ace is staring at him from the doorway, a mix of concern and disbelief in his eyes as he carefully takes a step forward. He stops when Riddle slowly stands up.

"Ace. What are you doing here?" Riddle's voice isn't strong and clear, but rather raspy. Even so, he doesn't want to pretend that everything is fine, so he just wipes the tears away from his cheeks. "It's late."  
"I could ask you the same thing." Ace puts his hands in his pocket, studying the other without moving an inch.

Lucky for them, the rain has stopped, but it could start again at any moment. It's been raining non-stop for almost a week. Lightning pierces the night, thunder echoes ominously. The well-known smell of wet grass fills the air.

"Indeed, you could."

And Riddle knows that he will. He may not have known him for long, but he has already figured out what type of guy he is. He's not capable of minding his own business... or else they wouldn't have fought before. He is too stubborn to let things go.

Riddle looks at his pants, now covered in mud. He pinches the bridge of his nose and takes a deep breath, then he retraces his steps towards the dorm's door. He looks at Ace, who stares back in silence, as if waiting for something.

"Your head will explode if you think too much, Ace." Riddle barely holds back a laugh as Ace's eyes open wider.

Ace is clearly taken aback, standing there with his mouth agape, no quick reply on the tip of his tongue as he watches Riddle head back to the dorm. The only thing he's able to do is grab the other by his wrist before he can walk away from him.

“I just wanted to be nice, I didn't want to ask you why the hell you were swimming in the mud in the middle of the night! No need to be the little irritating meany you always are!"

Riddle doesn't say anything. It's not that he doesn't want to, it's just that he doesn't know what to say. It's not the first time this has happened. Too many times, when he's alone with Ace, he's gotten overwhelmed by his positivity, by his genuine attitude, his honesty. He's quite the opposite of what Riddle has always been, the person he never had the opportunity to become.

_Until now_ , at least.

It's been weeks and Riddle still cannot understand how Ace managed to destroy everything he had always believed in. Years of fear and sadness turned into a desire to be a better person. If he can now smile from the bottom of his heart, it's only thanks to Ace.

Riddle looks down at his wrist and so does Ace. A second later, Ace frees him from his grip and crosses his arms over his chest.

"S... so? Care to tell me what's gotten into you?"

The old Riddle would have appealed to his prefect status to avoid telling him anything. The new Riddle smiles instead, and goes to sit on one of the many sofas in the lounge. Ace follows, sitting next to him. He leans against the cushions, making himself comfortable.

"I needed some air."  
Ace glares at him, “Sure, and I'm awake because I was studying. Please, I saw you crying. You may think I'm an idiot, but I'm not blind."  
"Are you calling me a liar?" A small grin flashes across Riddle's face when Ace stutters uncomfortably, "I was joking. I just couldn't sleep."  
"Don't do that anymore! I can't understand when you're joking, you sound too serious!! It's scary!" Ace curses under his breath before changing position. Sitting still seems to be costing him a whole lot of effort. "So... you had a nightmare? Seriously? You're saying that our high and mighty prefect is scared of a stupid dream?" He chuckles.

For once, Riddle decides to overlook Ace's insinuation. He really doesn't have the strength to respond to every single one of his jabs at the moment.

“I understand if you think it's stupid, but I can't simply erase my past. The memories are there, waiting for me to go to sleep so that they come back to hunt me. Sometimes they are mere fragments of something I can't even remember that well, other times... they're too vivid... too real."

It feels strange to talk about his nightmares with someone that isn't Trey. His childhood friend tends to worry way too much, as if Riddle could break down at any moment. He always forces Riddle to tell him everything.

"That's so stupid." Ace shrugs, "It's a dream, it isn't real. Just tell your memories to go to hell, you don't have time to deal with them anymore!"

Riddle smiles.

Ace is different than Trey. He prefers a joke over a few words of comfort and would do whatever he can to make you smile. The Overblot episode hasn't stopped Ace from making fun of him for the incident with the oyster sauce in the tarts. There also hasn't been a day that Ace hasn't rehashed the fact that Riddle almost killed him, to make him feel guilty so that he could avoid any punishment.

Ace has never thought of Riddle as a weak person that needs to be protected.  
For this, Riddle is grateful to him.

The abuse he suffered as a child is something that left its mark, that comes back to haunt him whenever he thinks he's safe. It will take time to leave his past behind. It's not something that can go away that easily, it's not like changing a habit of drinking tea with honey instead of sugar.

A cheshire grin spreads across Riddle's lips, “Now, then. Care to tell me what you were doing in the middle of the night? Rule _#712_ of the Queen of Hearts, _It is forbidden to leave your own room after midnight except for reasons of utmost urgency_. Perhaps you were trying to sneak out of the dorm again?" He bursts out laughing when Ace goes pale at his words.

Who knows if the boy who opened Pandora's box can also be the one capable of fending off the evil hidden inside.

**Author's Note:**

> A big TY to my lovely friend that always helps me with my bad english ;_;  
> I wanted to write a smut at first... It will be for another time! ♥  
> I have a TW account, but 99% of the time I retweet a lot of fanart: /BrightRedRuler


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